Southern States Dominate List of Riskiest U.S. Market Counties
ATTOM’s latest Housing Risk Report for the second quarter of 2025 highlights growing financial pressures on U.S. homeowners, with Southern and Western counties showing the greatest vulnerability. The riskiest markets were defined by high foreclosure activity, significant numbers of underwater mortgages and elevated unemployment. California led the list with 14 high-risk counties, followed by Florida with seven, while Louisiana and New Jersey also had multiple counties flagged. In many of these areas, residents needed to devote at least half of their annual wages to afford homeownership costs, underscoring widespread affordability challenges even as wages and employment figures appeared stable nationally.
At the same time, the report identified pockets of stability, particularly in the Northeast and Midwest, where counties benefited from lower foreclosure rates, reduced unemployment and fewer underwater mortgages. Despite record home prices nationwide, some markets such as Vermont, New York and Texas remained more resilient, with residents spending far less of their income on housing. The findings illustrate the uneven nature of housing market risk across the U.S., showing that while affordability pressures are nearly universal, localized economic conditions play a major role in determining which markets are most at risk.
